


Remembrance

by draculard



Category: Naruto
Genre: Brotherly Angst, Child Soldiers, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Post-Uchiha Massacre, Psychological Trauma, Traumatized Uchiha Itachi, Traumatized Uchiha Sasuke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:14:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23193793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/draculard/pseuds/draculard
Summary: The weight of a kunai in his palm reminds him of childhood.
Relationships: Uchiha Itachi & Uchiha Sasuke
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36
Collections: It's All in the Name (Take #1)





	Remembrance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



The weight of a kunai in his palm reminds him of childhood; the heft of it, the sensation of cool metal warming to his skin, is permanently connected with other memories: the faint, almost unnoticeable scent of mist hanging low over the Konoha training grounds early each morning; the sun going down over the Uchiha pond, its reflection wavering and misshapen on the water; the taste of the dango Kaa-san rolled for him when he graduated early; Sasuke hanging off his shoulders with his little hands clasped too tightly around Itachi’s neck.

He’s not alone in this. Thousands of people like him  — at fourteen, after all he’s done, he hesitates to think of himself as a child but the word ‘adult’ feels equally strange on his tongue  — grow up with kunai in their hands. 

What makes him unique is the specific memories the kunai connects him to: other than Sasuke, he’s the only one in the world who remembers sunset over the Uchiha pond now. His actions have made sure of that. 

* * *

When Sasuke handles shuriken afterward, he always feels  — just for a moment  — the sting of a blade ripping through his shoulder. He always hears the  _ thunk _ of metal driving into wood. The sight of a sword, no matter what shape or size, makes him see shadows on the floor, forms in the vague shapes of a man and a woman collapsed on each other.

He learns to swallow these memories and move on. He learns to bury his reaction so deeply and so quickly that he doesn’t flinch  — so he never loses his advantage in a fight.

Kunai are different. The sound of a kunai hitting its target makes Sasuke six years old again, makes him feel the vague ache in his legs from hiding behind a tree to watch Itachi practice for hours on end. The sight of a kunai brings back the sharp pain in his ankle, the comforting, warm feeling of someone carrying him on their back. 

He remembers organizing his kunai in his room, counting them, cleaning them, carefully slotting them into his pouch. He remembers hurrying on bare feet to the find Itachi, certain that today they’d practice, certain that today he’d figure out how to replicate all of Itachi’s best tricks.

He remembers the dull pain of a flick against his forehead.

He remembers that gentle  — loving  — insincere smile.

He never quite learns how to mask his reaction to a kunai.


End file.
